Irene Bankhead has her 7-year-old grandson sit in her lap sometimes and shows him pictures of his father.

“He likes to look at them, and we'll tell him stories because he never got to know him,” she said. “It's very, very sad.”

The boy's father, Leonard Bankhead, 34, was stabbed to death in 2006, but leads in the investigation have been few and the family hopes a $5,000 reward, now being offered by Crime Stoppers, will help solve the case.

A police report notes it was about 6:30 a.m. July 30, 2006, when Leonard Bankhead was found sprawled face-up in the front yard of a home in the 6600 block of Monterey Street on the West Side.

He had been stabbed several times in the torso; his pants and shirt were soaked in blood. He was clutching an Easton Hammer baseball bat and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A witness interviewed at the time told police he'd heard an argument outside between 6 and 6:15 a.m. but when he looked outside, he only saw a man riding a bicycle along the street.

Irene Bankhead said it's unclear why her son, who was nicknamed “Bubby” by family, was in the area that night. In his youth, she said, several cousins lived in the area but had moved by 2006.

He left behind four children, a wife, Anna, and a niece and nephew he was raising as his own.

“It's been seven years and when it happened, I almost lost my mind,” she said. “But now I'm stronger and I want closure. I want the people who murdered my son to be arrested. Someone out there knows who murdered him. I just hope they have it in their heart to tell police.”

Call 224-STOP to report a tip. The information can be offered anonymously.